I am enjoying raising the kids. Actually the secret is they grow bigger and
older even if you don't raise them. If you sit back and do nothing, they still
grow.
But I'm enjoying watching them grow, and helping them out here and there
learning life stuff.
But I don't think I'll mind it when they grow all up. I'm fairly selfish
on a basic level and think I could enjoy more me-time.
Anyway, even after they grow up, it's not like they disappear. I'll see them
on Facebook.

I spent half the day with my mom yesterday, but today, we mostly cross-commented on Facebook. If she's not travelling, I see my mom at least twice a week. I don't get along with my dad as well, but I still see him at least once a week... and when I saw him yesterday morning, he made me a cup of tea, which I desperately needed.

Last week, there was one day I didn't call my mom all day. Felt weird. Usually I call her every day when she's not away.

My sister lives less than a block from me, and she only sees my parents when they drop by her garden on Saturday mornings.

All depends on the relationship.

My mom also spends way more time with my kids than with her other grandchildren. She's not much of an initiator, and my husband and I are. (other siblings aren't)

My mother-in-law doesn't have a job and lives within 30 minutes drive of both of her daughters, yet she talks to my husband more than she talks to her daughters... again with us initiating...

I like my kids and I therefore hope and expect them to grow up and leave.
I think it's the most natural and healthy thing they can do. As far as how
close our relationships will be in the future, like triL said, each kid is
different. (Except for Shlomo and Yaakov, they are like an older and a younger
version of the same person)

I've held for a long time now that the only difference between Shlomo and
Yaakov was 10 years of age. But I've started seeing something with Yaakov
that I never saw with Shlomo, or even any of the other kids. Yaakov cares
about his appearance. He loves to brush his hair and use the hair dryer and
he gives me this big grin and says "I'm so pretty". He chooses his own clothes.
It's really interesting, my big kids only recently started caring about their
appearances, now that they are teenagers. I know this happens from stories
from other parents, but I've never seen it myself before.
What next, he might start demanding I purchase specific clothing for him,
or hair gel or who knows what. And he's 3.

ha! My big boys need to be told to go shower, they don't seem to realize otherwise
that they need it. It's true, at age 11.75 at least one of them resisted every
time we told them to go shower. This is where the nervousness of fitting
it comes in handy. Once you tell them that they smell and the other boys will
make fun of them for smelling bad, that's motivation enough.

Ha, I don't think I will take the pin-up approach, but funny none the less. Also Shazam, he is a little bit socially awkward (apple not far from the tree I am afraid), so that is not as effective. I will weather the storm (and the smells). Just need to get to the point that he wants to be cleaner for the aforementioned reason, and nag in the interim.

Ew
ax25, even us socially awkward generally don't want to give others more reasons
for taunting us. Is he in a school with girls and boys? Cause I understand
that boys who go to school with girls are a lot easier to convince to groom
themselves.
It's funny, is this JUST a social thing that boys are raised to care less
abour dirt or is it really mentally hardwared in their heads? I see it at
every age, grandpas don't care about the state of the house as much as the
grandmas, all the way down to preschoolers. Back when they were itty bitty,
if Adina had an accident and peed on herself, she cried. The boys shrugged
and were like "Eh, it'll dry eventually"